Italy cruises testing

[Trixsea]

21 minutes ago, Jdf62 said:

I will be on the 6/4 Edge sailing out of Rome...I am arriving on 6/3 and am comfortable getting the pre-cruise test upon arrival at FCO.  What I am not comfortable with, yet anyway, is how to get the test for departure back to the US (crossing fingers the US drops the testing requirement).  The ship gets in around 5am and my flight is at 12:50.  Celebrity says they will be selling an ehealth test (I already have Binax kits from my canceled January cruise that are still good).  I suppose there will be enough time to test at the airport, but if it is tight timewise, I am a bit concerned about getting tested before checking luggage.  Will the elevate package wifi be good enough to take the Binax test the last day at sea?  Do I need to look into a data package that works in Italy?  I am concerned the data package might be too slow to properly do the ehealth test after we disembark.  I am not sure if just paying Verizon for coverage for Italy will be fast enough either....

I agree 100%.  This is what keeps me up at night!

[jsl51]

My friend and I just got our tests today (NEGATIVE!!! yay!)  May 4 in Tucson Az for arrival in Venice Friday May 6 and embarking in Ravenna on May 7 (O line)

We have both prepared the passenger locater doc, even though I believe they have dropped their requirements for that.

Good luck to all of you traveling now - we'll need it!

Crazy times....

[sasset]

Jdf62:

When we did our tests at Heathrow last week it only took about 30 minutes to get the email results.

Edited May 4, 2022 by sasset
clarity

[newtocruiseinblue]

1 hour ago, jsl51 said:

My friend and I just got our tests today (NEGATIVE!!! yay!)  May 4 in Tucson Az for arrival in Venice Friday May 6 and embarking in Ravenna on May 7 (O line)

We have both prepared the passenger locater doc, even though I believe they have dropped their requirements for that.

Good luck to all of you traveling now - we'll need it!

Crazy times....

Keep us posted

[PurpleTraveller]

4 hours ago, cruisingaussies said:

Why do some keep insisting this is an Italian ruling and not Celebrity?  If it is an Italian requirement why is it 48 hours for passengers on Costa?  See my post #194. 

 

I think you may be correct that this is a Celebrity requirement rather than an Italian requirement. Italy's requirement may be that all cruise passengers be tested prior to boarding but I wonder what they have stated the timing of when the test should be taken.

 

Two other cruise lines without the one day testing are Cunard with 2 days and Oceania with 72 hours. 

 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2022 by PurpleTraveller

[VitaminSea53]

3 hours ago, Jdf62 said:

I will be on the 6/4 Edge sailing out of Rome...I am arriving on 6/3 and am comfortable getting the pre-cruise test upon arrival at FCO.  What I am not comfortable with, yet anyway, is how to get the test for departure back to the US (crossing fingers the US drops the testing requirement).  The ship gets in around 5am and my flight is at 12:50.  Celebrity says they will be selling an ehealth test (I already have Binax kits from my canceled January cruise that are still good).  I suppose there will be enough time to test at the airport, but if it is tight timewise, I am a bit concerned about getting tested before checking luggage.  Will the elevate package wifi be good enough to take the Binax test the last day at sea?  Do I need to look into a data package that works in Italy?  I am concerned the data package might be too slow to properly do the ehealth test after we disembark.  I am not sure if just paying Verizon for coverage for Italy will be fast enough either....

Do you have a port stop the day before you dock in Civi?  Perhaps you can get the test done there.

[p18750]

11 hours ago, minster123 said:

Can someone confirm:  we are travelling from UK - Manchester in July.

 

I understand things might change before then but currently if we get an antigen test at a pharmacy in the UK on Thursday afternoon say 4.00pm (we fly 7am Friday morning) that will be OK for embarking at 1.00pm on Friday as it will be less than 24 hours since the test??

 

I know this sounds simple but the more I read the more confused I'm getting !!!

 

 

It may seem inconsequential but the requirement is not 24 hours but 1 day. So if your cruise embarks on Friday you must have a test on Thursday, anytime Thursday. 

[B x]

5 hours ago, p18750 said:

 

It may seem inconsequential but the requirement is not 24 hours but 1 day. So if your cruise embarks on Friday you must have a test on Thursday, anytime Thursday. 

 

It is not "inconsequential". I raised the terminology of "within"  on another post and was shot down and told it means any time the previous day just as you also suggest. I was not being pedantic I was being factual.

 

Celebrity state "Must present a negative Antigen test taken within 1 day prior to sailing". Both the Cambridge and Oxford dictionary provide this explanation of "within" "If a time is X, within 24 hours means no later than 24 later"

Edited May 5, 2022 by B x

[B x]

7 hours ago, sasset said:

Jdf62:

When we did our tests at Heathrow last week it only took about 30 minutes to get the email results.

Was that an Antigen?

[Stu UK]

19 minutes ago, B x said:

 

It is not "inconsequential". I raised the terminology of "within"  on another post and was shot down and told it means any time the previous day just as you also suggest. I was not being pedantic I was being factual.

 

Celebrity state "Must present a negative Antigen test taken within 1 day prior to sailing". Both the Cambridge and Oxford dictionary provide this explanation of "within" "If a time is X, within 24 hours means no later than 24 later"

Celebrity are very clear on their website …..

 

How do I calculate which days I may take my pre-cruise COVID-19 test?

When calculating which days you can take your test, be aware that the day you set sail is not counted as one of the days, unless the country of embarkation stipulates that the test be taken within 24 hours of arrival.

For example, if you are setting sail on a Saturday, and you are required to test 3 days before your sailing, you can take your test on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday; and for 2 days in advance, you can take the test Thursday or Friday.

[B x]

2 hours ago, Stu UK said:

Celebrity are very clear on their website …..

 

How do I calculate which days I may take my pre-cruise COVID-19 test?

When calculating which days you can take your test, be aware that the day you set sail is not counted as one of the days, unless the country of embarkation stipulates that the test be taken within 24 hours of arrival.

For example, if you are setting sail on a Saturday, and you are required to test 3 days before your sailing, you can take your test on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday; and for 2 days in advance, you can take the test Thursday or Friday.

I've not come across that section, was it under the European guidelines or the US ones? So when would your take on the stipulated "within one day" for a Monday embarkation be ??

[Deenoob]

From the current EUHG guidelines

 

7.4. Testing of passengers on the day of embarkation
 All passengers (except children under the age of 12 years) should hold proof of a negative NAAT or RADT performed either:
o the day of embarkation, OR
o the day before embarkation, OR
o the first day of the cruise if the tests cannot be performed on the day of embarkation
or the day before the embarkation. If the test will be performed on the first day of the cruise on board, then the passengers should remain in their cabin until the result of the test is available.

 

 

EUHG partners - Ministry of Health (MINSAL), Italy 

EUHG affiliates -  Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Italy

 

 

12 minutes ago, B x said:

I've not come across that section, was it under the European guidelines or the US ones? So when would your take on the stipulated "within one day" for a Monday embarkation be ??

 

[hrhdhd]

1 hour ago, B x said:

I've not come across that section, was it under the European guidelines or the US ones? So when would your take on the stipulated "within one day" for a Monday embarkation be ??

Sunday.

[cruisingaussies]

15 minutes ago, hrhdhd said:

Sunday.

Quite. And therein lies the problem for some passengers sailing on a Monday. It’s extremely difficult to find a pharmacy open in Italy on a Sunday (or anything open on Sunday ). If you do find one - and even in a big town it usually is only one - it is only from 9am to 12 noon.  Something that Celebrity has totally failed to take in to consideration, as well as the fact that not everyone will be flying into Rome the day before the cruise. 

 

[hrhdhd]

1 hour ago, cruisingaussies said:

Quite. And therein lies the problem for some passengers sailing on a Monday. It’s extremely difficult to find a pharmacy open in Italy on a Sunday (or anything open on Sunday ). If you do find one - and even in a big town it usually is only one - it is only from 9am to 12 noon.  Something that Celebrity has totally failed to take in to consideration, as well as the fact that not everyone will be flying into Rome the day before the cruise. 

 

Bring the tests that can be monitored remotely. That's part of my plan.

[B x]

There have been various opinions on this thread about the interpretation of the word testing "within" one day of cruising. 

 

Friends due to cruise with Silversea in June on a Med itinerary (same company as RCI) just received a mail with various info including testing requirements "PCR or antigen test must be taken within one day/no more than 24 hours before your scheduled boarding time.

 

Sounds pretty clear to me, so possibly inadvisable to assume Celebrity have a different take on 'within'.

Edited May 5, 2022 by B x

[Deenoob]

28 minutes ago, B x said:

There have been various opinions on this thread about the interpretation of the word testing "within" one day of cruising. 

 

Friends due to cruise with Silversea in June on a Med itinerary (same company as RCI) just received a mail with various info including testing requirements "PCR or antigen test must be taken within one day/no more than 24 hours before your scheduled boarding time.

 

Sounds pretty clear to me, so possibly inadvisable to assume Celebrity have a different take on 'within'.

If you see my post above , the guidelines specify “the day before “

https://www.healthygateways.eu/Portals/0/plcdocs/EUHG_Operational_guidelines_CoV_April2022.pdf?ver=2022-04-06-152525-527

These are the official European guidelines, however it’s interesting that these are guidelines and not regulations. This would mean that cruise lines are not bound by them.

 

maybe why different lines have different rules ????

Edited May 5, 2022 by Deenoob

[Lastdance]

2 minutes ago, Deenoob said:

If you see my post above , the guidelines specify “the day before “

https://www.healthygateways.eu/Portals/0/plcdocs/EUHG_Operational_guidelines_CoV_April2022.pdf?ver=2022-04-06-152525-527

These are the official European guidelines, however it’s interesting that these are guidelines and not regulations. This would mean that cruise lines are not bound by them.

 

maybe why different lines have different rules ????

That is now...next month it may change.  Yes, you are certainly correct.

[Ellan Vannin]

2 minutes ago, Deenoob said:

If you see my post above , the guidelines specify “the day before “

https://www.healthygateways.eu/Portals/0/plcdocs/EUHG_Operational_guidelines_CoV_April2022.pdf?ver=2022-04-06-152525-527

These are the official European guidelines, however it’s interesting that these are guidelines and not regulations. This would mean that cruise lines are not bound by them.

 

maybe why different lines have different rules ????

 

And departures from different European countries have different rules which makes no sense.

 

[Virginia100]

No wonder I canceled for August!

[sasset]

9 hours ago, B x said:

Was that an Antigen?

Yes

[Jdf62]

16 hours ago, VitaminSea53 said:

Do you have a port stop the day before you dock in Civi?  Perhaps you can get the test done there.

No port stop....Sea day 😐

[p18750]

15 hours ago, B x said:

 

It is not "inconsequential". I raised the terminology of "within"  on another post and was shot down and told it means any time the previous day just as you also suggest. I was not being pedantic I was being factual.

 

Celebrity state "Must present a negative Antigen test taken within 1 day prior to sailing". Both the Cambridge and Oxford dictionary provide this explanation of "within" "If a time is X, within 24 hours means no later than 24 later"

I don't know which is correct but perhaps someone who has boarded a Celebrity cruise could weigh in. 

 

If you are correct then you can take a test within 24 hours of your cruise sailing. So if your cruise departs Civi at 5 pm on Monday you could get tested anytime between 5 pm Sunday and 5 pm Monday.

 

Since I live in AZ this would mean I needed to get tested anytime between 8 am Sunday and 8 am Monday AZ time. 

If I am correct then I could get tested anytime between 12:01 am Sunday and 11:59 pm Sunday. Which would correspond to 3:01 pm SATURDAY and 2:59 pm Sunday AZ time. 

 

My flight departs Sunday at 7:43 am under your interpretation I could not test prior to departure but could test on arrival in Rome since I arrive Monday at 9:30 am. Under my interpretation I could test anytime after 3 pm Saturday and before 3 pm Sunday (both AZ time) well before my flight departs. 

 

Unless someone can get clarity it seems the approach for those flying in the day of the cruise  would be to test at home before you depart and then again at the airport in Rome and hope they are both negative. 

[cruisingaussies]

38 minutes ago, p18750 said:

I don't know which is correct but perhaps someone who has boarded a Celebrity cruise could weigh in. 

 

If you are correct then you can take a test within 24 hours of your cruise sailing. So if your cruise departs Civi at 5 pm on Monday you could get tested anytime between 5 pm Sunday and 5 pm Monday.

 

Since I live in AZ this would mean I needed to get tested anytime between 8 am Sunday and 8 am Monday AZ time. 

If I am correct then I could get tested anytime between 12:01 am Sunday and 11:59 pm Sunday. Which would correspond to 3:01 pm SATURDAY and 2:59 pm Sunday AZ time. 

 

My flight departs Sunday at 7:43 am under your interpretation I could not test prior to departure but could test on arrival in Rome since I arrive Monday at 9:30 am. Under my interpretation I could test anytime after 3 pm Saturday and before 3 pm Sunday (both AZ time) well before my flight departs. 

 

Unless someone can get clarity it seems the approach for those flying in the day of the cruise  would be to test at home before you depart and then again at the airport in Rome and hope they are both negative. 

It appears you haven't read the rest of this thread.

[p18750]

31 minutes ago, cruisingaussies said:

It appears you haven't read the rest of this thread.

I did read the rest of the thread and I don't believe there was a definitive answer to whether it was a day or 24 hours. 

There was a post from the EU health agency indicating "the day before" but that was clearly a recommendation and not a requirement and in either case does not answer the question since the question is what does a "day" mean.

There was a post from another cruise line which indicated "one day/no more than 24 hours" but that is for Silversea and not Celebrity.

I had posted earlier that Oceania indicates 72 hours but that has no bearing on what Celebrity means. 

 

The common usage of "day before" would mean the previous day, i.e. Sunday is the previous day to Monday. If it is Thursday then "the day before yesterday" refers to Tuesday. But as has been pointed out the dictionary definition indicates 24 hours. 

 

If I have missed something please let me know.